Lettering device



Oct. 19, 1943. s. H. McA'FEE LETTERING DEVICE Filed Nov. 16, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l G P. n 0

H 0 66M (I I Oct. 19, 1943. s. H. MCAFEE 2,332,159

LETTERING DEVICE Filed NOV. 16, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

9 v v 4 BY Patented Get. 19, 1943 UNITED '5 STATES PATENT" OFFICE LETTERING DEVICE Samuel H. McAfee, New Orleans,'La. Application November 16, 1942, Serial No. 465,741 '5 7 Claims. (o1. 101-126) i This invention relates to a lettering device, one of the objects being to combine with a drawing board, a means whereby through the use of sten-' oils and a pen or other suitable markingelement, it is possible quickly to produce Well shaped and proportioned letters and numerals along straight line, there being means for quickly shifting a stencil so as to bring into line the characters in either of two or more rows. I

A further object is to provide a structure permitting rapid shifting of a stencil to proper position for producing a new line of letters.

A still further object is to mount the stencil on a carriage of new and novel construction which can be easily manipulated for the purpose of properly spacing the characters being produced, all of the spacing being effected without the use of measuring devices, T-square or other articles usually employed and without the use of special clamps or fastening devices for holding the stencil on the selected line.

Another and important object is to provide a structure of this character which can be made almost entirely of Wood.

A still further object is to provide stencil-shifting mechanism positioned mainly beneath the board where it is out of the way. I 1 I A further object is to provide apparatus with which sheets of paper can be used or on which a web of paper can be held after being unrolled.

While the apparatus is useful for lettering em ployed for any purpose, the apparatus has been found especially useful by amateurs and others in lettering titles, etc., employed in connection with moving picture films, etc.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understoodthat changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of th apparatus.

Figure 2 is a bottom view thereof.

Figure 3 is a side elevation.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-4, Figure 1, the line rail being shown in elevation and parts being broken away.

Figure 5 is a View partly in side elevation and partly in section of a portion of the device show:

ing a portion of the spacing bar and the stop button used in connection thereWith,-said button being shown by. full lines in one position andby broken lines in another. position and the spacing bar being shown, by broken lines in contact with the button whenin one of said positions, said view being a section on line 55, Fig. 6.

Figure 6 is a bottom plan View of a portion-of the device and showing, by dotted lines and full lines respective1y,-two positions of the operating lever of the line-spacing means.

Figure 7 is an enlarged section on line 1-1,

Fig. 2.

Figure Sis a transverse section through one of the spacing bars :and a portion of the board showing a supplemental line rail in engagement therewithforuse in connection with a stencil differing in size from the one used with the linerail shown in Figs. land 4. v h I Referring to the figures by characters of referonce, I designates a drawing board of any suitable size and secured thereon adjacent to the upper corner portions thereof are bracketsZ. in

which are journalled bearing pins 3 extending from the ends of a clamping bar 4. This bar is extended transversely of the board and has a finger piece 5 extended upwardly and backwardly therefrom. Clamping fingers 6 are extended downwardly and forwardly fromthe bar and are rigidly joined thereto or formed therewith and I these fingers are normally pressed against the board or upon any paper interposed between them drawn, can be readily inserted in proper posi-' tion on the board after which, by releasing the clamp formed by bar 4,- finger piece B and finger B, the sheet will be securely gripped and held against, displacement during tering operations;

The 'back portion of the board Iis provided with, legs 1 whereby the board can be main tained in an inclined position while supported on a table or the like and, in order to prevent scarring ofthe supporting surface, cushioning buttons 8 of rubber or the like can be located on the lower ends of these legs and also'on the bottom,;of the board adjacent its front or lower corner portions.

subsequent let- By spacing the board from its supporting surface by the means stated, it becomes possible to mount on the bottom of the board the mechanism used for the purpose of shifting a stencil upwardly and downwardly on the board as desired. The means employed for this purpose includes a cruciform frame made up of a crossbar 9 and a longitudinal bar It, the two bars bein rigidly joined at their points of crossing. The longitudinal bar is mounted to slide between guide blocks H which are arranged in pairs, the blocks of each pair being joined by a bridge piece l2 whereby bar It is permitted to slide freely but accurately in the direction of its length and at the same time is supported by the bridge pieces so that it will not drop out of position between the blocks H. The upper or back end of this longitudinal bar In is joined'by a link I3 to an intermediate portion of a shifting lever M. This shifting lever is extended transversely beneath the upper portion of the board I and is pivotally mounted at one end, as shown at I5 while its other end is extended slightly beyond one side edge of the board I and provided with an arm l6 which extends above the top surface of the board and has a recessed head i! at its upper end for receiving a finger of the user when it is desired to make a shift as hereinafter explained. Lever H can be made of a strip of wood which will flex readily and the link i3 is also made of a strip of material which will flex although having sufficient rigidity to transmit movement in either direction between bar l0 and lever l4.

At a suitable point between its ends and preferably adjacent to the link l3, the lever I4 is slidable between board I and a tongue [1' which, in turn, is positioned above but spaced from a bracket I8, both the tongue and bracket being secured together at one end and also secured at said end to the board. A coiled spring 19 is interposed between the free end portions of the tongue I1 and bracket 18 and thus urges the tongue ll normally against the bottom surface of the lever l4.' Tongue I1 is of a fiber or other suitable wear-resisting material having a certain'amount of flexibility and constitutes a wear element along which lever H can slide while be ing swung on its pivot I5.

The transverse bar 9 of the frame beneath the board I is seated at its ends in parallel slides each of which is forked longitudinally at its ends, as shown at 2|, so as to straddle guide blocks 22 secured to the bottom'surface of board Brackets 23 are attached to the bottom of the board I and extend transversely under the slides 29 so as to support them for sliding movement along the bottom surface of the board.

Each slide 28 has an upwardly extended longitudinal flange 24 which is held snugly against the adjacent side edge of the board because of the engagement of the forked slides with the guide blocks 22 as shown; These flanges at the two sides of the board constitute main spacing bars and their upper faces are positioned slightly below the top surface of the board I and provided at regular intervals with slots 25 extending transversely thereof from their top edges. The spaces between these slots determine the distance between lines to be lettered one sheet of materialon theboard and it will be apparent that by shifting lever ll back and forth on its pivot I15, the frame made up of the connected bars 9 and will cause the slides to shift longitudinally relative to the board. The downward or forward movement of the slides and of the spacing bars 24 thereon is limited by stops 25 secured to the sides of the board at the forward or lower end thereof. slides in the opposite or backward direction is limited by adjustable stops 21. Each of these adjustable stops has a longitudinal slot 28 extended thereinto and a clamping screw 29 or the like extends through each slot and into the side of the board. Thus by tightening the screw following longitudinal adjustment of the block, said block can be held securely against movement and if the two blocks are accurately adjusted, both slides will be brought simultaneously to a stop when they arrive at predetermined positions.

A supplemental stop button 313 is pivotally mounted'on each of the adjustable stops 2'! and is for the purpose hereinafter explained. This button, however, is normally raised out of active position, as shown in Fig. 3.

In order that the parts when shifted maybe held against accidental displacement, a keeper BI is provided on the bottom of the board adjacentto that end of lever l4 carrying arm I6 and head ll. This keeper, in the structure shown, has three stop shoulders or steps indicated at 32, 33 and 34 respectively. Shoulders 32 and 34 are disposed oppositely to each other while shoulder 33 is an intermediate one and, withshoulder 34, serves to limit the swinging movement of lever M in a downward or forward direction. Shoulder 32, however, serves as a means for limiting the upward or backward movement of lever i4.- Thus when lever I4 is swung forwardly to one extreme position, determined by the stops 26 through their contact with the spacing bars 24, said lever can spring upwardly in front of the stop shoulder 32 so that accidental backward movement of the parts is prevented. However by depressing the head I! to flex lever ll downwardly, said lever can be swung backwardly or upwardly past shoulder 33 and then released for engagement with said shoulder or it can be swung back to its extreme position'and released for engagement with stop shoulder 34. All of this will be apparent, it is believed, by referring toFig. 2 of the drawings.

Each slot 25 is aligned with a similar slot at the opposite side of the board and, as before stated, these slots are all spaced apart equal distances. Any selected pair of alined slots is adapted to receive thin blades 35 extended toward each other from blocks 36 extending downwardly from the end portions of a line rail 3'! which is longer than the width of board I so as to project well beyond the sides of the board as shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2. This line rail is smooth and straight and is preferably rectangular in cross-section so as thus to constitute an efficient support and guide for a, carriage indicated generally at 38. The carriage comprises two parallel strips 39 and 40 which are spaced apart a distance somewhat greater than the width of' the rail 3! and are rigidly connected by top pieces 4| which are adapted to bear downwardly on the rail 31.

Secured to an intermediate portion of the strip 39 is the middle portion of a resilient strip &2 the ends of which constitute wear shoes for frictionally engaging the adjacent or forward side of rail 31 toward which they can be adjusted by means of small screws 43 extended through the strip 39. Thus this wear strip 42"and the strip 40 cooperate to provide a channel in which The movement of the The strip 48 has a longitudinal rabbet 44 pro-v viding a seat for one edge portion of a stencil 45 and this stencil is adapted to beheld securely on the seat by an insert 46 in the form of a strip adapted to be wedged between the supported edge portion of the stencil and the back or upper ends of the parts 48 which, as shown, overhang the rabbet 44. See Fig. 3.

The stencil 45 can be provided, along that edge remote from the insert 46, with a downturned bead or flange 41 wherebyall parts of se stencil containing the cut-out characters are supported out of contact with the surface on which the inked characters are produced. The stencil can be of any desired size and can have one line devoted to openings used in the formation of capital letters and another line, with openings used in the formation of small letters. Thesetwo lines of openings'are parallel and are spaced apart a distance equal to that in which the rail 38 will be moved by the bars 24 when depressed lever 54 is shifted from one of its positions to another, as determined by the stops 26 and 27. If the stencil is provided with three rows of characters to be drawn, the third row being devoted, for example, to numerals and punctuation marks, etc., a third position could be provided, this position being determined by the intermediate stop shoulder 33, for example, or by any other suitable means found desirable. Where numerals, etc., are used infrequently, however, only two stops arerequired, namely the forward stop and the backward stop, these being employedfor the capital letters and the small letters. To use the third line at infrequent intervals, the line rail can be shifted one or more notches along its spacing rails to bring the desired portion of the stencil into line.

It is thought that the operation of this structure will be apparent from the foregoing description. The selected stencil is fastened to the carriage and after the paper has been properly positioned on the board and clamped in place, the carriage with the stencil held therein is placed on the line rail 31 and the line rail'is placed in those notches of slot 25 which will hold the stencil. in proper position to enable capital letters, for example, to be produced.

If the stencil is thus located the lever M will be pressed backwardly so that the spacing bars are abutting against the stops 21. As each capital letter is formed through the proper opening in the stencil, said stencil is shifted longitudinally of the rail 31 by sliding the carriage until the opening used for producing the next letter is properly placed. This operation is repeated until the desired number of capital letters have been made. When a small letter is to be formed the lever M is depressed and pulled forwardly. This will cause the rail 3'! to be shifted forwardly a distance sufficient to bring the stencil openings of the small characters into line with the previously formed capital letters and by thereafter adjusting the carriage 38 along rail 31, the proper stencil openings can be brought into position to permit the formation of the small letters in line with the previously formed capital letters. By pushing lever l 4 downwardly and backwardly the stencil can again be shifted to bring it in position for' use in producing capital letters. Thus a very quick and convenient shift is provided and it becomes possible forrthe user to do the shifting with the hand holding the pen while the other hand can be used for adjusting the carriage along the rail.

Should it be desired to use a stencil for smaller letters than those shown, for example, in Fig. 1, supplemental spacing bars can be employed.

These bars, which have been indicated at 48, are

extended along the outer sides of the spacing bars 24 and have slots 49 extended downwardly thereinto at-regular intervals, these slots being closer together than the slots 25 so that a line rail when adjusted from one position to another will permit the production of lines which are closer together than would be possible where the more widely spaced slots 25 are used. The provision of the supplemental bars 48 requires the use of a special line bar 50 which, as shown in Fig. 8,

has blocks 5| extending downwardly from the end portions thereof and each of these blocks has a downwardly extended blade 52 proportioned to extend into any one of the slots id.

Where the lines are to be more closely arranged through the use of the spacing bars 43, it is necessary, of course, to change the stops employed for limiting the movement of the bars.

:It is for this purpose that-the buttons 30 have been employed and by swinging these buttons downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown for-example, by broken lines in Fig. 5, the bars 24 and 48 have more limited movement than where the buttons are notused. Minute adjustment of these'parts can be effected by means of adjustable stop blocks 53 connected to the bars 24 and located beyond the back ends of the bars 48. Obviously by means of clamping screws 54 these-blocks 53 can be held against movement relative to the bars and, in cooperation with the stops 2'! or the buttons 30 or both, can permit adjustment to insure any desired length of movement when the lever I4 is shifted in one direction.

It is to be understood of course that following the formation of characters along one row, the line rail can be lifted up and adjusted to another position so that the stencil, when guided therealong, will produce characters along another selected line.

Importance is attached to the fact that almost all of the material used in the construction of this apparatus is wood. The structure is very simple and can be produced cheaply and sold at low cost. It will not readily get out of order and can be easily manipulated. It will be found especially useful by amateur photographers desiring to prepare neatly formed titles although the apparatus will also be found valuable in the printing of labels, display cards, etc.

.What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus of the class described including a member for supporting a sheet of material to be lettered, spacing bars mounted for sliding movement at the sides of said member, said bars havin spaced transverse slots, a line rail extended across the member, means on the rail for engagement in any one of the slots, stencil-carrying means slidable along the rail and movable bodily therewith, and means under the control of the user for shifting the bars toward or from one end of the memher to change the position of the rail.

2. A device of the class described including a member for supporting a sheet of material to be lettered or otherwise marked, spacing bars slidably mounted on the side edges of the member, a line rail extending across said member and the bars, cooperating means on the rail and bars for holding said rail in any one of a. number of different positions relative to the ends of the bars, a stencil-carrying carriage slidable along the rail, and means under the control of an operator for simultaneously shifting the bars and the rail in either of two directions.

3. The combination with a work-supporting board, of parallel bars spaced apart and mounted for sliding movement relative to the board, a line rail, cooperating means on the rail and bars for holding said rail in any one of a number of positions relative to the ends of the bars, a carriage straddling and slidable along the rail, means on the carriage for gripping and holding a stencil for movement therewith, a shifting lever movably connected to the board, and means actuated by the lever for moving the bars and rail simultaneously in either of two directions, thereby to shift the position of the stencil on the board.

4. The combination with a work-supporting board, of spacing bars slidably mounted relative thereto and carried thereby, a transverse line rail, cooperating means on the rail and bars for detachably and adjustably connecting them, a carriage mounted on and slidable longitudinally of the rail, a stencil, means for detachably connecting the stencil to the carriage, means for clamping work upon the board while in engagement with the carriage and stencil, and means under the control of an operator for shifting the bars and the line rail on the clamped work to change the position of the stencil on the Work.

5. The combination with a work-supporting board, of spacing bars slidably mounted on and carried by the board, a line rail detachably mounted on and extending transversely of the board, cooperating means on the rail and spacing bars for connecting them for simultaneous movement along lines parallel with the bars, an actuating lever pivotally connected to the bottom of the board and positioned for engagement by the operator, a frame slidably mounted on the bottom of the board and actuated by the lever, connections between the frame and the bars, said lever being shiftable to slide the bars toward or from the front of the board, and a carriage slidable along and movable with the rail, said carriage constituting stencil-carrying means.

6. The combination with a work-supporting board, of transversely slotted spacing bars slidably mounted on the sides of the board, a transverse line rail, blades on the rail proportioned to be seated in selected slots in the bars, thereby to connect the rail and bars for simultaneous sliding movement relative to the board, a hand-operated lever, means under the board and operatively connected to the lever, for simultaneously sliding the bars toward or from one end of the board, said rail being movable with the bars, a carriage movable with and slidable along the rail transversely of the board, adjustable means for maintaining a tight working fit between the carriage and the rail, and means on the carriage for engaging and holding a stencil. I

7. The combination with a Work-supporting board, of spacing bars slidably mounted on the side portions of the board for movement toward and from the front end of said board, a transverse line rail extending across the board and detachably and adjustably engaging the spacing bars, fixed stops for limiting the movement of the bars in one direction, adjustable stops for limiting the movement of the bars in the opposite direction, stencil-carrying means movable along and with the rail, and manually-operated means for shifting the bars against the fixed and adjustable stops successively.

SAMUEL H. MoAFEE. 

